What’s up with Algae now? 

Fermentalg

In May, Fermentalg announced that it has passed the symbolic mark of one tonne of DHA-rich (Omega 3) oil produced using its patented technology for growing microalgae in a predominantly heterotrophic, mixotrophic environment.

The oil was produced at an industrial site adapted to the technology in 2 runs during the first days of April 2015. Fermentalg was also able to reduce the length of the batch production cycle by 10% to further improve its yield performance. All told, over two tonnes of dry biomass were produced, which contain around a tonne of DHA-rich oil that is currently being extracted bringing oil production to date to well over the tonne mark. This success confirms Fermentalg’s robust technology and capacity to meet the industrial challenges of mass production (scale-up).

Fuji Chemical

In January 2014, natural algae astaxanthin manufacturers Fuji Chemical Industry Co, Algatechnologies Ltd, and Cyanotech Corporation announced that they will form the “Natural Algae Astaxanthin Association,” a trade organization dedicated to educating the public and dietary supplement industry about the health benefits of Natural Astaxanthin and the major differences between sources.

These three founding members will welcome other algae-based astaxanthin producers to the Association in the near future. The association is being formed in response to the petrochemical derived synthetic astaxanthin, which is now being marketed.

Green Star Products

During the fourth quarter of 2014, Green Star Products signed a contract to build a large proprietary demonstration Hybrid Algae Production System (HAPS) facility for a third party to produce commercial quality algae.

This contract is very specific for GSPI to build and operate the HAPS system. However, the algae strains to be cultivated will be provided by another third party and the final algae biomass commercial product will be delivered to the original client for analysis and utilization. The facility is a premium showcase algae pond system located near South Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This project is strictly a commercial research demonstration unit funded by the client using Green Star technology. The HAPS presently under construction by GSPI is approximately 70,000 liters capacity of algae growth media.

Heliae

LastAugust, The Digest reported that CFO Craig Johnson became interim chief executive officer of Heliae, and highlighted the product mix for The Digest.

“We call them GP1, GP2, and GP3,” Johnson told the Digest. “GP1 is astaxanthin, which we are already working on and producing in Gilbert. Our [astaxanthin] JV in Japan [with Sincere Corporation] is still moving forward, we are working through design and development at this time; everything is on track. We are doing some further refining for the scale-up of the nutraceutical process, and we expect we’ll be in commercial operation by year-end.

“GP2 is our Volaris technology. We’re focusing on AgScience opportunities there. Right now, we’ve got two products identified, a biostimulant and a plant protection product. The first one, the biostimulant, enhances the germination and makes the plant stronger. The other is for protection as it grows. There’s huge customer demand, based in the need to move away from chemicals to organic growth stimulants.

“With Volaris, we are working through the scale-up, it’s more about optimization, making sure we are coming up with the right size and dimension. Normal things with a scale-up. There aren’t any 90-degree turns. Pricing varies pretty widely. Right now [with Volaris], we’re more in demonstration mode than active commercial production.

“GP3 is food and feed additives. Our first product is MAA product. “We’re still looking at which reactor we’ll use with the MAA product — Volaris or tank reactors. We haven’t landed on which is the right platform. This sector is in the earliest stage of the technology, of the three. We’ve had limited success with tanks so far.

In May, Heliae announced ground breaking at an expansion project at its ten acre production plant in Gilbert, Arizona. Heliae had invested nearly $3 million in the design and construction of a new large enclosed photo bioreactor, which will further increase the company’s algal production capabilities. Construction began in May, 2015 and is expected to be operational this month.

In July 2014, Heliae announced a joint venture with top Japanese waste management and recycling company, Sincere Corporation, to develop a commercial algae production facility in Saga City, Japan. The joint venture has been named Alvita Corporation, and will combine Sincere Corporation’s operational skill, distribution networks and knowledge of the Japanese market with Heliae’s proprietary algae production technology to supply natural astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant with broad health benefits, to the growing health and wellness market in the region. Late in 2014, Heliae shipped to Saga City a complete pilot-sized test facility to carry out initial site assessment tests to assess our plans for the new facility. The test facility consists of 6 open pond reactors housed inside a locally built greenhouse (see figures, below). Along with the reactors, a fully functioning laboratory was shipped for analysis of culture growth parameters.

IHI NeoG Algae

In January 2014, we reported that IHI NeoG Algae said it has cut the price of algae production by half to $4.8 per liter in part thanks to improvements in breeding. Through breed improvement and automation, the company is working to bring the production cost down to 96 cents per liter. The algae species was developed by Gene & Gene Technology and is being grown in IHI’s pond.

Missing Link Technology

Last October, Missing Link Technology was awarded patents for its deep water growth, harvesting, oils extraction, and biocrude extraction integrated suite of solutions.

1) MicGro Deep Water Reactor/Process: A engineered system of a series of one to ten foot deep water bioreactors configured in a stirred tank followed by a plug flow process flow design that generates algae biomass growth rates on an exponentially superior basis.

2) Shepherd Harvester: Harvesting process that eliminates the requirement to pump large volumes of water / hydraulic transport and concentrates mature algae cells to increase harvesting potential.

3) Alginator: A high pressure / high shear continuous system designed for extracting DHA/Omega oils from algae by employing rapid non-equilibrium decompression which harnessing the energy from within the algae cells to rupture and capture the oils for market.  Design maximizes oil extraction while being the low-cost low-energy solution.

4) Algaefaction: Hydrothermal Liquefaction is a continuous process that converts algae biomass directly into crude oil by utilizing a combination of pressure ranges, temperature ranges and a proprietary catalyst suitable for meeting our transportation fuel needs.